Aleksi Virtanen
Aleksi Virtanen (more commonly known as "Alex Virtanen") was a Hall of Famer running back for the Seattle Seagulls and Dallas Knights. History Aleksi Virtaten was born in Tacoma, Washington on January 12th, 1972. Aleksi was born into a fairly lower middle class Lutheran family to a Finnish immigrant father and a Finnish-American mother. As a boy, Aleksi was an active and friendly boy, despite problems at home. His father had occasional issues with alcoholism and a struggling factory job, and Aleksi was often the target of his inadequacies. Rarely physical, but verbal abuse would often occur. Aleksi had to weather this through most of his childhood and although he hated it, he learned to not imitate his father's behavior. Mostly in an effort to spite him. While in his pre-teen years, Aleksi discovered a passion for football. It helped him take his mind off of his less-than-ideal home situation, and gave him an outlet for his frustrations. While only average academically in school, he excelled at the sport and started to play seriously in middle school. Aleksi was a great runner and made something of a name for himself in the local league for his speed. In high school he managed to win a couple regional championships, and it was then he was scouted by several colleges. Eventually, he chose to go accept an offer by Seattle State University, full ride. It was only then that his father showed any pride in him, which Aleksi resented. While playing for Seattle State, he managed to get the team far in the league. It was also here in college that he met the woman who would become his wife, Marte Hansen. They had a very serious relationship throughout his entire college career. It was during his time in college that he realized that this was the career he wanted to pursue, as this was the sport that helped him through much of his life. After a successful career in college, and earning a standard degree in business, he entered the 1992 FAFF draft, and was picked by the Seattle Seagulls. He was proud to wear the #24 jersey, especially for the team of his home state. Aleksi became something of the hometown favorite, being a local boy whose made quite the career for himself. After figuring out that 'Aleksi' was hard for a lot of people to say or remember, in public he often used the anglicized form of his name, 'Alex'. Throughout his football career, he was known for being an approachable player to fans, the media, and other teams and was always one of the first to volunteer for charity and fan events. Aleksi did his best for the Seagulls over the next six years, making a name for himself. He married Marte and had a son in 1993, forming a happy and supportive family while he continued his career. As his son grew up and became more interested in the sport, he was happy to get him involved with the sport when he was older. However, in 1998, he was unexpectedly traded to the Dallas Knights. While unsure as to why he was traded, given the good season they had, he decided he had to continue on undaunted. The next two years were good, but it would be the 2000 season that would make his career. After a great season and making it to the Pro-Team Bowl, Aleksi became the star of the show as he ran for 82 yards in the second quarter to turn the game back in Dallas' favor. His two touchdowns and 202 rushing yards in helped win the championship for Dallas and even the MVP title. His family could not be more proud. After his sensational performance in 2000, Aleksi would spend the next three years with Dallas as their running back. While satisfied that he managed to be on a championship team, something he never dreamed would happen to him, he figured he should try to do it again. He was so happy with his son's interest in the sport, and wanted to continue to be a role model for him. However, things took a turn for the worst in 2003. During a game, he suffered a head-on collision with another player that took him out for the rest of the game. Unnoticed at the time due to Aleksi's wish to keep playing, the collision caused a brain injury that would be aggravated by the rest of the season. With the Knight not making the 2003 play-offs, he retired at the end of 2003. After the season was over, however, the full gravity of the injury manifested. On January 24th, 2004, Aleksi Virtanen suffered a stroke as a result of the injury and passed away. Aleksi was survived by his wife and son, Marte and Logan Virtanen. In 2008, he was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame. Contract Info Statistics Individual Win-Loss Record Total Record: 102-90 Category:Bear Category:Running Backs